Fulton: Swansea’s Squad Depth Is Best Since Relegation

Jay Fulton believes Swansea City squad depth is the strongest it has been since the club dropped out of the Premier League in 2018. The midfielder, now 32, has watched the Championship leaders build a start that no Swansea side has managed since relegation, and he points to a dressing room with almost two players in every position.

A start that stands out

Swansea have taken 23 points from their first 10 league games in 2026-27 and sit top of the Championship table. It is the club’s best opening to a season since they were relegated from the top flight. Fulton has featured in nine of those 10 matches, a sharp contrast with the limited role he had at the beginning of the previous campaign.

Rotation without a drop-off

The depth claim is backed by how heavily Vitor Matos has rotated. Swansea’s head coach has used all 50 available substitution slots this season. Only Bristol City’s Michael Skubala has matched that total. Fulton says the replacements have not weakened the side, and the numbers support him: Swansea have scored four goals from substitutes, joint-second most in the division.

Matos arrived in November 2025, replacing Alan Sheehan. Fulton had started only one of Swansea’s first 15 league games in 2025-26 and featured in six of them. He describes that period as frustrating, with minutes and form hard to come by.

Matos and the culture shift

Fulton credits Matos with restoring his confidence and sense of belonging. He says the head coach gives almost everyone playing minutes and has created a positive environment at the training ground. The squad, in Fulton’s view, feels bigger because it has more depth and quality, and everyone is united behind one direction.

Home and away

Swansea are unbeaten in five home games at Swansea.com Stadium. Their away form has been even more striking: they average 2.4 points per away game, the best in the Championship. Fulton has captained the side twice in this run, in a 3-0 win at Derby County and a 0-0 draw with Wrexham.

His own Swansea story began in January 2014, when he joined from Falkirk. He made his debut in a 4-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa in April 2014. Now in his ninth consecutive Championship season with the club, Fulton is a long-serving presence in a squad he says is deeper than any he has known since the drop.